Financing Special Needs Education in Uganda

As part of the broader goal of fostering budget transparency, the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group1 (CSBAG) commissioned a study to track the flow and utilization of special needs Education resources in 3 districts of Kibaale, Abim and Agago. The overarching goal of the study was to generate evidence to inform efforts of enhancing accountability and efficiency of public resource utilization in Uganda.

The study is in response to various challenges that are experienced by special needs learners in trying to attain education services in the various schools of Uganda. Whilst the international and national policy and legal frameworks provide enabling environments for these learners to attain education without being discriminated against, various studies cite implementation gaps.

The major objective of the study was to track the utilization of special needs education funds in the three selected districts. The study sought to address the following:

1. The institutional set up and policy frameworks for special needs education in Uganda and how this influences effective service delivery on special needs education in Uganda.

2. Special needs education programme interventions and strategies that have been implemented over the last 3 years.

3. Criterion used to determine allocation of resources for special needs education at district level.

4. Performance and financing of special needs education and the level of beneficiary satisfaction